


Brand New Day

by captainamergirl



Series: Sweet Surrender [1]
Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Ensemble Cast, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 05:39:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11845068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Where do they all go next? (Set in September 2011)





	Brand New Day

**BRAND NEW DAY**  
  
"I heard you're leaving town," he said as soon as he had spotted her. He nodded to the over-stuffed Louis Vuitton suitcase in her hand. "I guess the rumors were true."  
  
Carly looked up at Bo. "Yes. I am leaving." She started to stuff the suitcase into an already too packed Range Rover but was struggling so Bo took it from her. Their hands briefly brushed and she felt that old familiar charge of energy shoot through her body. She saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes and knew he had felt it too. For just a second, he had remembered what they had shared...  
  
They both pulled away and Bo stuffed the suitcase into the trunk. "I could have done that you know," Carly said.  
  
"I know. You're the strongest woman I know."  
  
"I don't need you to rescue me from myself anymore. I can stand on my own feet now," Carly said. "If anything, being in rehab showed me that."  
  
Bo nodded. "You never needed me or anyone to hold up you up, Carly. You are an independent, amazing woman."  
  
"Thanks..."  
  
"It’s true." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you sure leaving town though - that it’s what you really want to do?"  
  
"Starting over is always hard but worth it in the end."  
  
"For what it’s worth, I'm sorry."  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for," she said automatically.  
  
"C'mon, Carly. I let you believe we had a future." His words cut her to the quick but in the next breath, he made it better. "I wanted so badly to be the man you need. But the timing-"  
  
"I know," Carly said. "And its okay. I'm stronger now, Bo. I don't need anyone to lean on."  
  
"Promise me something though."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Promise me you'll find love again. True love with a man who can totally commit to you."  
  
Carly's eyes misted with tears. "I can't promise you anything because I don't know what's going to happen next. And as my doctor said, I need to take things on day at a time. Besides, I am not sure there are men out there who can be all you wished for me."  
  
"All I wished I could be," Bo murmured so quietly she almost didn't hear him. But she had and she knew, deep down, he still loved her, possibly as much as she did him. But there was too much standing in their way now and it was time to go.  
  
Nicholas walked out of the house and saw her with Bo. He curled his lip in distaste but addressed Carly only. "Should we get going?"  
  
Carly nodded. "Yes. We can't miss our flight."  
  
"Where are you going?" Bo asked.  
  
"We'll know when we get there," Carly answered. As much as she wanted to tell Bo about their plans, she couldn't. She couldn't hold out hope that one day he'd come after her.  
  
"That was vague. But okay. I just want you to be happy wherever you land."  
  
"I wish the same for you, Bo," Carly said and she held out her hand to him.  
  
Bo shook his head. "After all we've meant to each other, you can do a lot better than a handshake." Then he pulled her into his arms and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, so soft almost she thought she had imagined it.  
  
"Mom?" Nicholas called.  
  
Carly nodded and pulled away from Bo. "This is it," she murmured. "Take care, Bo."  
  
"You too," Bo said and watched her climb into the Range Rover. "Be happy," he called after her and then Nicholas started the engine and they were off.  
  
Once Carly hazarded a look back in the rearview mirror to meet Bo's eyes. He waved to her and then then Nicholas turned the corner and Bo was lost to her all over again.  
  
XoXoXo  
  
"I'm not going," Quinn said resolutely, looking between Taylor and Vivian.  
  
"Oh good," Vivian chirped. "I know we can fight these charges and win. I'll find you an amazing attorney and you'll never see a day in prison. At least, not another one."  
  
Taylor looked at Vivian and Quinn like they had both lost their minds. "You do realize, Quinn, that you're basically giving up your get out of jail free card? That your mom's fancy lawyers might not be able to save you? We could go somewhere, start fresh with a clean slate like we said we wanted to."  
  
Vivian pooh-poohed the idea. "I don't want my son leaving me - not again. Been there, done that, Taylor."  
  
The women looked angrily at each other and seemed poised for an old-fashioned cat fight but suddenly Quinn was standing between them. "Mother, I need to talk to Taylor. Alone."  
  
"Nonsense. Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of both of us."  
  
Quinn shook his head at his mother. "Please."  
  
Vivian tsk-tsked with her tongue but finally after giving Taylor a killer glare, walked out of the room. Now it was just Taylor and Quinn. Quinn and Taylor, and there was so much to be said that neither could quite find the words to verbalize. But Quinn would try. He had to get through to the woman before him, the woman he loved more than life itself.  
  
"I know what I'm doing," he said in his husky accented voice as he took her smaller hands into his much larger ones.  
  
"Do you? Cause from where I'm standing it looks like you're as crazy as your mother."  
  
"Would you believe I'm doing this - turning myself in - for you?"  
  
Taylor's mouth parted in surprise. "How can you say that? How can possibly spending the next two to five years apart be good for either of us?"  
  
"Because, baby, what kind of life can I offer you right now? I'm a career criminal with a mile-long rap sheet. We can run out of here but the past will always follow us until I get it right. Which I will but I want to be  
the man you can be proud of, in every single way. I can't take you away from Salem. It’s your home now. You belong here with Nicole driving you crazy and Abe and Lexie watching out for you. You belong here with your friends and family."  
  
"We've wasted so much time already," Taylor said as tears misted her coral eyes. "Way too many."  
  
"I know. God knows I know that but I want to be someone worthy of you. If one day we find our way back to each other, I want to be able to raise our kids right here amongst the people who will love them the way you are loved by them. I won't run and make you worry one day that I'll repeat my mistakes."  
  
_"If_ we find our way back together?" Taylor echoed. "You are what - cutting me loose?"  
  
"I don't want to. I want to be with you, baby, but I can't ask you to wait around for years. It wouldn't be fair to you."  
  
Taylor sighed and buried her face for a moment in the crook of his neck. "I hate when you try to be noble."  
  
"There is nothing noble about this, Taylor. Honestly, the only thing I know in this world is how to love you. I want to be with you more than anything but I have to make things right; I have to make a good man out of myself who deserves the honor of being the man you love."  
  
Quinn reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand. "I love you, Taylor. Believe that if nothing else."  
  
"I do," Taylor said. "And I love you too. I always, always have." Then she kissed him hard on the lips - kissed him with all of the love, heartbreak and passion inside of her.  
  
"But like it or not, Quinn, I'm going to wait for you. As long as it takes. We waited this long to be together. A little while longer shouldn't hurt so much."  
  
Quinn kissed her. "I love you. And I will make this up to you someday. I will be the man you can be proud of."  
  
Taylor kissed him back once more. "You already are."  
  
XoXoXo  
  
Jack slipped inside the darkened house and peered around as best as he could in the mere light illuminating from the porch. It was good to be home - FINALLY! He didn't expect things to be easy but he would make Jennifer and the kids understand somehow why he had gone away. He was always been able to in the past. Even though something whispered to him that this time was different, he didn't want to think it, or feel it.  
  
He heard a scuffling at the door and then voices. Jennifer's voice. He walked towards the door, curious who she could be with.  
  
He peeled back the corner of the curtain and peered out. His heart stopped. Jennifer was kissing an impossibly handsome man. "Why I oughta ..." Jack balled his hands into a fist but knew discretion was of the essence for now.  
  
He heard Jennifer ask the underwear model in for a nightcap. The man looked ready to say 'yes' when his pager blared. _Saved by the bell,_ Jack thought.  
  
The man murmured something about work, smooched Jennifer once more, and then walked off.  
  
Jack backed away from the window and tried leaning against the banister casually but finally decided casualness was out of the question. As soon as Jennifer had opened the door, he practically pounced on her. "Who in the hell was that?" Jack asked.  
  
Jennifer screamed in surprise and smacked him hard in the stomach. "JACK!" She walloped him again, this time in the chest.  
  
Jack stepped back, rubbing his chest as Jennifer flicked on the living room lights. "Well, hello to you too, Jennifer."  
  
"Jack, what are you doing here?"  
  
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Not happy to see me, I take it."  
  
Jennifer shook her head adamantly. "No, no I'm not."  
  
"But I missed you, Jennifer. Boy, have I missed you." He meant every word.  
  
"Jack Deveraux! You don't get to come here and say things like that," Jennifer hissed. "You don't get to say you missed me or anything of the kind."  
  
"Why? It’s true."  
  
"Jack, you left. You walked out on me and the kids. You - you don't belong here and more importantly, I've moved on."  
  
Jack scoffed. "With the Culligan man?"  
  
"You were spying!"  
  
"Watching out for you," Jack corrected her. "And I didn't like what I saw."  
  
"It doesn't matter, Jack," Jennifer said. "You left. You don't get a say in my life now."  
  
"Do you think our kids need to see you with another man? Let alone some underwear model?!"  
  
"You don't know Daniel. He's an amazing man. And Abby happens to like him a lot. In fact, she -" Her voice suddenly broke off.  
  
"What about our daughter? My Abby?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"No, Jennifer, level with me here."  
  
"Abby wanted me to date Daniel!" Jennifer said. "I was hesitant but she knew I needed a push."  
  
Jack clutched his chest. "She gave you a push into his manly arms, huh? Well ... I'm speechless."  
  
"Well there's a first time for everything," Jennifer mused. "And I'm sorry if that hurts you, Jack, but you left us again. We had no choice but to move on."  
  
Jack nodded. "I'm sorry, Jennifer, but I honestly had my reasons."  
  
"You always do. You always do," she murmured. "Except this time we are not putting our lives on hold until you feel ready to return. Until you deign to grace us with your presence."  
  
Jack shook his head. He was feeling so much emotion right now and couldn't verbalize it. Even his trusty quips failed him at the moment.  
  
"I'm sorry," was all he could say. "Sorry for hurting you and the kids."  
  
Jack sighed and then started towards the door. Knowing his own family, his own wife and precious children, despised him, cut him to the quick.  
  
"Jack!" Jennifer cried. "Jack, don't-"  
  
"I shouldn't have come back."  
  
"No, you shouldn't have left in the first place," Jennifer returned. "And please, don't leave now."  
  
Jack paused in his tracks. "Jennifer -"  
  
"Jack, don't go. Not again. The kids need you. I - I need you."  
  
"You've got Daniel now."  
  
"Stop the self-pity stuff, Jack. It’s not a good look on you. Just ... Choose us, Jack. For once in your life, fight for us."  
  
"I'll always choose you. You all have my heart and soul." He paused. "I'm so sorry, Jennifer. I did have my reasons for going but none that are more pressing than you and the kids."  
  
Jennifer nodded as tears gave way and slipped down her face. "Jack," she murmured softly. "I've tried so hard to hate you. I tried to cut you out of my heart. But it never worked. I can't - I can't stop loving you and wanting you with every fiber of my being."  
  
"Jen, I feel the same way but your life ... It doesn't include me anymore."  
  
"Jack, just - just hold me," Jennifer said. "We'll figure everything out tomorrow."  
  
Jack nodded and slowly closed the distance between them, pulling her against his chest. "You don't have to ask me twice."  
  
XoXoXo  
  
"Thanks, thanks for driving me," Nicole said as EJ walked with her towards the front door of the Kiriakis mansion.  
  
"Of course. I wanted to be sure after the ordeal today ..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just so glad you're okay. And you have to believe, deep down, that I mean that."  
  
Nicole quirked a small smile. "Oh I believe it," she said. "Who else would keep you on your toes the way I do?"  
  
EJ nodded. "Yes, that's true, Nicole, but also .... No one gets me the way you do."  
  
"We're peas in a pod. A really, really twisted pod."  
  
EJ nodded again. "That's true too but maybe that's why we belong together."  
  
Nicole stared at him in shock. She was beyond surprised by his words but also some part of her was hopeful. Hopeful that he was serious, that this wasn't some kind of trick to get back at her. She wanted to believe he wasn't working an angle. Her heart was literally pounding.  
  
"You're - you're joking," She said. "You know you don't mean it."  
  
"I know exactly what I mean."  
  
"You know we always destroy each other."  
  
"Yes we do," EJ admitted. He reached out and caressed her face gently, ever so gently. "But maybe that could change."  
  
Nicole instinctively leaned into his touch, even knowing she shouldn't. "We don't change. We may want to but we never really do."  
  
"We can try," EJ said. "I'm willing to try. Because, sincerely, Nicole, I can't... imagine another day without you by my side. I don't want to. We can fight and we can hurt each other but at the end of the day, we also accept each other and love each other the way no one else ever has. And I do love you, Nicole, with every breath inside of me."  
  
"Where is this coming from? Just a month ago, you were claiming your undying love for my sister."  
  
"I was lying to myself. We both were. She was trying to forget that rake Quinn and as for me ... I was trying to forget how much I needed you. And how I kept messing us up time and time again."  
  
"EJ..."  
  
"You don't trust me. I understand that but I am asking for the chance to prove to you that I can honestly be the man you need in your life, the man you deserve. Please, Nicole. Its selfish for me to even ask-"  
  
"Damn right it is," Nic0ole snapped and then her voice softened again. "It’s all so crazy... Crazy that you've told me this and even crazier that I'm considering it."  
  
"You are considering it then, considering us."  
  
"God knows I don't want to hurt Brady..."  
  
"I know. You know I am far from fond of the guy but I'll give you time - as much as you need - to figure out what you really want."  
  
"That's the thing, EJ. I already know what I want," she cried as tears collected in her eyes. "I want you, EJ."  
  
EJ gently reached out and traced the contours of her face with his hand. "I want you too, Nicole. I want it all with you. And only you."  
  
"Me too," she said. "But are we crazy to think we can really have it all?"  
  
"We're crazy period, Nicole, that's us. Crazy and destructive schemers. But that's why we work together so well. We're peas in a twisted pod, like you said. But even more than that, I can't imagine my life without you in it. I don't want to. You - I want you and I love you. Please believe me."  
  
"I do," Nicole murmured as she felt his fingers whisper across her skin. "I don't know why but I honestly do. I honestly believe you, EJ. I believe _IN_ you."  
  
They kissed then and the kiss was like coming home for both of them.  
  
XoXoXo  
  
"A tornado," Nicholas muttered. "A tornado grounds our plane in ... What the hell is this place called anyway?" he asked.  
  
Carly looked around as they walked out of the airport terminal. She noticed a handsome, fifty-something man watching her as he talked on his cell phone. His blue eyes followed her curiously and tantalizingly. She would soon learn his name was Jack Abbott and he would turn out to be the man Bo had wished for her to find. But for now, she was going to just take things one day a time.  
  
"The sign says Genoa City, Wisconsin," Carly answered. "It’s a nice place to settle in for awhile, don't you think?"  
  
FINIS


End file.
